A&M Season Comes to an End in NCAA Second Round

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M's season came to an
end in the second round of the NCAA Championship as 16th-ranked Kentucky
eliminated the 16-seed Aggies, 25-18, 25-21, 25-19, in front of 1,321 tonight at
Reed Arena.

"I am really proud of my team for the season they had: 23-8,
back to the playoffs, second round," said A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli,
who entered the match with 499 career victories in her 26th season
and 399 wins in her 19 years at A&M. "We're heartbroken about the loss, but
(Kentucky) deserved the win today. They played great. I'm proud of my team and
I told them to hold their heads high. They're definitely Fightin' Texas Aggies,
they fought the whole game tonight. We got outplayed. It happens."

A&M couldn't find an answer for the Wildcats' Whitney
Billings and Ashley Frazier, who had 17 and 14 kills, respectively, and hit a
combined .448. And although Kentucky posted only four aces, A&M struggled
with the Wildcats' effective serve, which contributed to the Aggies being
outhit, .309 to .161 in the match.

"Serving was really all to more than I was expecting,"
Corbelli said. "Very aggressive. They did a great job of taking us out of
system and maybe (did) the best job of any team we've seen all year."

Other than the first point, Kentucky never trailed in the opening set,
outhitting A&M .441 to .207 en route to the 25-18 win. The Aggies were
within 15-12 when UK went on a 4-1 run to build a 19-13 lead. A&M got
within 20-16 following a kill by senior captain Kelsey Black and an ace by senior
middle blocker Elise Hendrickson. UK countered with three unanswered points to
go up, 23-16, and the teams then traded points for the remainder of the stanza
with Frazier putting down her fifth kill to clinch the set.

"I
felt their serving took us a little out of rhythm, obviously our passing
rhythm, and kept us from really getting our team attacking going," Corbelli
said when asked about the first set. "We're very dependent on team attacking.
We can't go 1-on-6 with many teams, but we kept fighting to get into our tempo.
I saw glimpses of it, and I was pleased because we weren't making many errors.
They just played great defense, they were in the right spots. They just played
better than us."

A&M scored three unanswered points to take a 9-7 lead in the second
set and stayed in the lead until Kentucky went on a 5-1 surge to go up 17-16.
The teams exchanged points before a UK attack error and an Alisia Kastmo kill
returned the lead to the Aggies, 20-19. The lead was short lived as Billings
blasted three consecutive kills to spark a 5-0 run that put the Wildcats at set
point. A service error ended UK's run before Billings posted her eighth kill of
the frame to end the set and give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead going into the
intermission.

Kentucky appeared in control of the third set early on as A&M spotted
the Wildcats a 13-8 lead before the Aggies began to rally. Junior middle blocker
Lindsey Miller teamed with three different players for three consecutive
blocks, and senior outside hitter Chelsea Ringel followed with a kill to put
the Aggies within 13-12. A&M would later tie the score at 15 as KU was
whistled for being in the net while attempting to block a Ringel attack. A&M
tied the score two more times before Black and Miller blocked Billings to give
the Aggies their first lead of the set, 18-17. Kentucky, however, scored the
next two points with a kill and a block to regain the lead. Black posted her
team-leading 11th kill to tie the score at 19-19, but that would be
A&M's final point. The Wildcats closed out the set and the match with six
unanswered points to advance.

Kentucky (28-5), which returns home to host the next two rounds
in the Lexington, Kentucky Regional, outhit A&M .309 to .161 for the match
and led in kills (51-34), assists (47-34), aces (4-2) and blocks (10.5 to 7).

Black was the only A&M player to reach double figures in
kills with 11. Setter Allie Sawatzky finished with 26 assists, and libero Megan
Pendergast led the Aggies with 11 digs.

The Aggies finish the season 23-8, marking the most wins
since 2003 when A&M went 23-10 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

The end of the season also marks the end of the collegiate
careers of five A&M seniors, including four-year letterwinners Black and
Ringel. Transfers Sarah Grace and Hendrickson wrap up two-year careers with the
Aggies, and Cinthya Roberto, who transferred from Florida for her final season,
also completes her collegiate career.